Rashid Johnson

Sharpening my oyster knife

Rashid Johnson belongs to a generation of young African-American artists that takes an extremely critical approach to the search for its cultural roots. While upholding his ties to Black subculture, Johnson’s works also reflect on the tensions between respect for the “white” avant-garde and his own ethnicity. His artistic strategies are open to a wide range of media and techniques extending from photography, painting and sculpture to performance and beyond; they are also aesthetically nonconformist and politically provocative. Johnson is skilful at using artistic autonomy as a basis for conscious attacks aimed at unmasking hidden cultural oppression and pillorying all forms of ethnic disregard. This catalogue documents this aspiring young artist’s first solo exhibition in Europe.